Do you need a boost?

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Are you in a stalemate? Your existing customer base is loyal. Revenue is steady. The problem is you’re not growing. What are you doing
to generate new income? Besides every day specials, food and drink promotions, what else have you offered to boost that bottom line?

Here are just a couple of ideas to consider when deciding how to bring in new customers and additional revenue. I’ll be covering each of
these ideas in more details over the coming weeks.

• Private dining
• Catering
• Your website
• Social media tools like Twitter and Facebook

Simple Time Management

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Ever find yourself literally spinning in circles trying to figure out what to do next? The list of Things To Do has become so long that it almost seems impossible to get through. There are only 24 hours in a day and with 8 hours or so dedicated (hopefully) to sleep, the rest of your time is valuable and spinning in circles gets you nowhere. Managing your time is critical – not only to achieving your goals, but to building your business and maintaining your sanity.

Where to start? Well, whether you manage your task list in a software system or on a legal pad, it’s important to follow a couple of key rules.

1. Set priorities – Must Do, Could Do, TBD. Start with items that need to be done by you and done that day. Could do’s are items that can be tackled once the Must Do’s are complete. TBD are items that are To Be Delegated to someone else.
2. Complete your daily tasks first – these are the Must Do’s mentioned above. Focus and complete these first as they are required to meet your job requirements.
3. Eliminate distractions – distractions vary – phone calls, e-mails, unscheduled meetings, Facebook/Twitter/Browsing (yes, we all have been guilty of this at one point). Set aside specific time throughout the day to accomplish or tackle these items. Check e-mail when you get to work, over lunch or a break, and at the end of the day, put non-critical phone calls into voicemail and schedule a time to return them, accept meetings during certain hours and try to stick to it. Keep social media and Internet browsing to your off hours or breaks.

Now, these steps can easily be achieved in ideal circumstances. But, we know there will be days that you are thrown off course. Remember, tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity to institute more effective time management skills.

We’re all about efficiency and time savings here at ReServe Interactive and we know that every minute counts for our customers. Hopefully the steps above are a helpful tool for you become more efficient.

Does anyone really like change?

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

There’s a saying that goes ‘The only thing constant in life is change’. Very true. And, in some cases, very hard to accept. When people are used to doing things a certain way, it can be difficult to change their course of action. People get caught up in what they have to give up and what has made them comfortable, versus what they may gain in the long run. You may find that some are eagerly willing to make the change, while some people dig in with their heels and fight you every step of the way.

Technology is often a trigger for significant change and therefore, a potential trigger for resistance. Whether you’re implementing software to take the place of manual processes or replacing one system with another, it’s important to remember that the reaction to that change will vary across your organization. To ease the pain, consider choosing a provider that will take the time to provide adequate training to your staff, as well as remain accessible throughout the implementation process, so concerns can be addressed and minds can be set at ease.  Take a moment to zero in on employees who are eagerly embracing the change and have them assist you in training others. Let their enthusiasm become contagious.

Our new customers are often surprised at how easy our software is to implement, train on and use. It is technology after all.  But our users, regardless of any resistance, or enthusiasm for that matter, are typically up and running, using the software to book actual events or dining reservations within a few hours of training. We work closely with them and provide all of the tools they need to ease any discomfort they may have with making the change.

Paul Pace from Treasure Island Hotel & Casino is a great example of an individual embracing change. When his company’s legacy dining reservation software system was phased out and ReServe Anywhere® was implemented, he said, “I came on board after implementation, and because the system is so user friendly and easy to use, I logged in and taught myself how to use it. I was able to take single and group reservations, make changes to floor plans and update menus within a couple of days.”

Change is inevitable, yes. But resistance to it doesn’t have to be.

Customer service skills matter just as much, if not more, than computer skills

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Technology is everywhere – The Ipad and Smart Phones, Twitter, Facebook, Cloud Computing, Software-as-a-Service, new versions of this, expanded versions of that. It’s overwhelming – and very exciting.

Technology has proven to be a valuable resource to the hospitality industry.  Customer facing technologies like kiosks and online reservation systems, as well as front-of-house software applications are helping venues better manage their businesses from the hostess desk to the floor to the kitchen. Businesses using the right technologies the right way are seeing efficiencies, productivity and revenues at levels they haven’t seen before.

One study from the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University called Customer Preferences for Restaurant Technology Innovations highlights the impact customer facing technologies like kiosks, pager systems and online reservation systems can have on customers, as well as restaurateurs. http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/2009.html.

Here’s a twist – technology, if implemented without thorough examination or simply used incorrectly, can hinder a business’s ability to grow and properly service customers. More time spent troubleshooting software or staff relying too heavily on the tool rather than spending face time with customers can be a detriment that compromises the integrity of your business.

Regardless of the latest technology tools and trends, it’s important to look at your selection from a customer service standpoint. Tools that detract from customer care will hurt you in the long run. Tools designed to help you service your customers and treat them like VIPs is a worthwhile and smart investment for the long term.

And it’s also important to remember that your customers don’t always know, or necessarily care, what technology tools you’re using. Ultimately, they care if the food is good, the price is right and the service is spot on.

When Considering Software Interfaces, Remember to Look Under the Hood

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

A lot of software programs use interfaces to enhance their offering. Interfaces allow users to work with a software solution that offers a variety of additional tools to meet their business needs. The trick is making sure the interfaces you are promised make your job easier.

When it comes to hospitality management software, there are products on the market that claim to offer intuitive or easy to use interfaces, but essentially they are just providing a link that directs the user to another application all together. A true interface allows both programs to automatically communicate with each other, easily sharing necessary data and ultimately enhancing the user experience.

At ReServe, we don’t just interface with anyone. We look for software partners that support their products and are committed to servicing their customers according to similarly high standards. Our goal is to select partners willing to share information and work side-by-side with us so that the interface is fully integrated and seamless.

Our customer base is broad, spanning several market segments with diverse technology requirements, so our software and any interfaces we offer, need to accommodate that range of needs, from the most basic to the most sophisticated platforms. As such, each interface we select fits naturally with our process driven design and simply becomes an extension of our software, running automatically and anticipating our users’ needs. Our interfaces are smart and work for the user, providing accurate and necessary information, presented on screen where you need it and only when you need it, without complicating routine tasks with extra steps or superfluous data.

Once we commit to an interface, we support it and keep it working throughout upgrades to our software’s architecture. That way, the interface is always functional and critical customer data is never lost. We stand behind our interfaces and make sure we understand the architecture of each third-party product, so that we can easily navigate it and troubleshoot user questions. We don’t bounce our users around between software companies and support departments. Instead, we work with the user as a single point of contact, trusting in our interface solutions and the companies that provide them.

We work with several industry partners to develop integrated interfaces, including Element Payment Systems for credit card processing and storage, MeetingMatrix for room diagramming, as well as various POS system software providers, paging system vendors, and food costing system manufacturers.

One example of a very efficient interface from the user’s perspective is our interface with MeetingMatrix. Through our partnership , we’ve developed an interface that seamlessly launches the MeetingMatrix software with the simple click of one button on the ReServe screen, transfers event information between ReServe and MeetingMatrix, and instantly creates custom room diagrams using the unique specifications for the event that have already been configured in ReServe.  With this solution, there is no double entry of information required. All relevant information is automatically shared between ReServe and MeetingMatrix, enabling the user to be very efficient in each program.

The elegance of a software solution should be in its simplicity for the user. Software should be assistive, not prohibitive, taking care of the details, providing the right data only when and where it is needed, and freeing the user to focus on their job. That is what “easy to use” and “intuitive” means. However, “easy to use” does not mean easy to create.  It’s not enough for a company to say its product interfaces with another product. As a user, you’ve got to demand a demonstration of how an interface actually works, because software cannot be a productivity tool that adds real value unless it is elegantly simple in its functionality.  

So, before you decide on a software solution that offers interfaces, make sure you are getting what you’ve been promised and what you’ve paid for. Demand true communication between the products, ease of use, and business enhancing functionality. After all, you have more important things to do than struggle with software solutions that are more trouble than they’re worth.